Special Audio Tests Set for New Law Officers
An important element of police work involves being able to clearly hear speech even when there’s lots of distracting noise all around, like screaming sirens, passing trucks and other chaotic sounds.
The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, better known as POST, has approved a new guideline for screening the hearing of new police officers. The guideline was developed by the nonprofit House Ear Institute here in Los Angeles.
House researchers developed a way to assess how well each of a person’s ears picks up speech in quiet and in noisy conditions. This kind of evaluation is considered important in evaluating not just police officers, but also firefighters and others in noisy public safety jobs who must be able to hear faint, distant and muffled sounds.
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